October 31, 2009

Halloween snuck up on us this year. The flu caused a delay in paying forward our boo-ing, and it also resulted in skipping our annual pumpkin patch trip and opting for a wagon ride with two relatively healthy kids (Reese, Xander) to the church around the corner instead. Those two succumbed to the flu a couple of days later, and by Friday we had front steps full of non-jack-o-lantern-ed pumpkins and at least one or two people who might still be contagious. The pediatrician nixed soccer games and parties (bummer, we missed my nephew Caeden's first birthday) but approved low-contact, not-too-energetic trick-or-treating so long as the kids felt up to it.

Well, by Saturday I think the only person who was really feeling fine was Griff. Dan was recouperating but wiped out from a bad week. I was coming out of the flu but starting to hit sinus infection symptoms. Xander was still sick, and Reese, although relatively healthy, isn't the biggest extrovert and generally doesn't care a whole lot about holiday observances just yet. So, yeah, hard to build up a head of steam for preparing for the night.

4pm rolled around and I finally got a burst of motivation, hauled the pumpkins in and some window decorations out, and Griff and I did some whirlwind Halloweening of the house. I don't think we did too badly, especially considering that I did almost all the pumpkin-hollowing and most of the carving on 2 regular-sized and 4 mini pumpkins. FYI: mini pumpkins and one of those cheapie carving kits are perfect for kids. Also, check out this sky! Nearly-full moon, and we saw bats! Perfect.

We shoved dinner into the kids (protein before treats) and attempted costuming them; only Griff wanted to wear a costume, with Reese donning his traditional "bone jammies" and Xander accepting twice-handed-down bat long johns. Seasonally appropriate, at least. Reese chose to stay home with me to greet trick-or-treaters and Dan popped Xander into a sling and headed out with Griff. They tackled about two blocks of our neighborhood, saw tons of friends on the sidewalks, and Reese and I hustled to keep our treasure chest full of candy, pencils, and glow bracelets for the 50ish kids that visited our door.

(PSA: whatever you do, don't bite glow bracelets. The stuff inside makes lovely paint but burns your mouth like fire. If, for some reason (insanity, enuii, being four years old) you choose not to heed this warning, wash your mouth out and then drink milk. Don't drink anything fizzy. Trust me.)

Reese and I had a lovely time staying in and welcoming back the TOTing contingent of the family. Only having one trick-or-treater in the house made for a small but respectable haul. Generous Griff agreed that all candy could be "group" candy and showed off the booty to his brothers. Xander couldn't get over all the pretty candies and asked "what's this one?" repeatedly. Reese and Griff also made some new discoveries. This is one of Dan's and my favorite parts of the night - the joy of learning about candy you've never seen before. (DumDums with a tootsie center? Who knew?)

So, ravages of influenza virus or no, we managed to salvage a pretty nice night! Now hopefully we can rejoin society soon!

More photos of Reese and Xander selecting pumpkins, flickering jack-o-lanterns, and cute costumed kids over here.

Comments

Halloween snuck up on us this year. The flu caused a delay in paying forward our boo-ing, and it also resulted in skipping our annual pumpkin patch trip and opting for a wagon ride with two relatively healthy kids (Reese, Xander) to the church around the corner instead. Those two succumbed to the flu a couple of days later, and by Friday we had front steps full of non-jack-o-lantern-ed pumpkins and at least one or two people who might still be contagious. The pediatrician nixed soccer games and parties (bummer, we missed my nephew Caeden's first birthday) but approved low-contact, not-too-energetic trick-or-treating so long as the kids felt up to it.

Well, by Saturday I think the only person who was really feeling fine was Griff. Dan was recouperating but wiped out from a bad week. I was coming out of the flu but starting to hit sinus infection symptoms. Xander was still sick, and Reese, although relatively healthy, isn't the biggest extrovert and generally doesn't care a whole lot about holiday observances just yet. So, yeah, hard to build up a head of steam for preparing for the night.

4pm rolled around and I finally got a burst of motivation, hauled the pumpkins in and some window decorations out, and Griff and I did some whirlwind Halloweening of the house. I don't think we did too badly, especially considering that I did almost all the pumpkin-hollowing and most of the carving on 2 regular-sized and 4 mini pumpkins. FYI: mini pumpkins and one of those cheapie carving kits are perfect for kids. Also, check out this sky! Nearly-full moon, and we saw bats! Perfect.

We shoved dinner into the kids (protein before treats) and attempted costuming them; only Griff wanted to wear a costume, with Reese donning his traditional "bone jammies" and Xander accepting twice-handed-down bat long johns. Seasonally appropriate, at least. Reese chose to stay home with me to greet trick-or-treaters and Dan popped Xander into a sling and headed out with Griff. They tackled about two blocks of our neighborhood, saw tons of friends on the sidewalks, and Reese and I hustled to keep our treasure chest full of candy, pencils, and glow bracelets for the 50ish kids that visited our door.

(PSA: whatever you do, don't bite glow bracelets. The stuff inside makes lovely paint but burns your mouth like fire. If, for some reason (insanity, enuii, being four years old) you choose not to heed this warning, wash your mouth out and then drink milk. Don't drink anything fizzy. Trust me.)

Reese and I had a lovely time staying in and welcoming back the TOTing contingent of the family. Only having one trick-or-treater in the house made for a small but respectable haul. Generous Griff agreed that all candy could be "group" candy and showed off the booty to his brothers. Xander couldn't get over all the pretty candies and asked "what's this one?" repeatedly. Reese and Griff also made some new discoveries. This is one of Dan's and my favorite parts of the night - the joy of learning about candy you've never seen before. (DumDums with a tootsie center? Who knew?)

So, ravages of influenza virus or no, we managed to salvage a pretty nice night! Now hopefully we can rejoin society soon!

More photos of Reese and Xander selecting pumpkins, flickering jack-o-lanterns, and cute costumed kids over here.